Enterprise Estonia (EAS) has formed a team of designers dedicated to coming up with a new concept for Estonia's national brand, the visual identity of which is expected to be ready by the end of this year.

"The Estonian design team will find visual and verbal ways of helping us tell the world about us and introduce Estonia in the best possible way," the team stated on its website. "As a result of the design team's work, the Estonian brand's new visual identity and design toolbox will be completed by the end of this year."

Such utilization of a design team is a new approach in Estonia — for the first time, different Estonian designers will contribute as private individuals to the success of one large creative project, they said.

Led by Alari Orav, the team consists of Janno Siimar, Jan Tomson, Anton Koovit, Kevin Crepin and Tajo Oja. Project managers for EAS are Piret Reinson, Elina Vilja and Priit Pruul. Specialists from other fields such as photographers, copywriters, animators and typographers will be brought in as needed as well.

Estonia's brand renewal effort is financed with money from EU Structural Funds, and the total cost of the entire project so far is 200,000 euros, of which 30,000 euros was planned to be spent on finding the country's next brand.

A "Logo of Estonia" contest organized by EAS received over 700 unique entries, however contest organizers decided not to choose a winning design from among them, instead splitting the contest's prize fund of 10,000 euros among the finalists; contest organizers claimed that the contest did not receive the kinds of designs whose "further development would have led to the best possible results."

The "Welcome to Estonia" brand created in 2002 had cost more than 13 million Estonian kroons, or approximately 830,000 euros, to produce.

The final stage of the current brand renewal project is slated to coincide with the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Estonian independence in 2018.

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